Vibrato
by Hedgi
Summary: Zoom discovers that Cisco has been spying on him via the vibes, and of course, he can't have that. Cisco will need more than waking nightmares and visions to get himself out of this, but he might be more powerful than anyone thought. (Zoom and Jesse 'Quick' Wells don't have character tags but they are the other characters of importance)


Another story from Prompts received through tumblr. Hope you like it. Happy new year.

* * *

Cisco took a deep breath, then picked up the tiny fragment of carbon fiber and tri-polymer—not his own creation, but far too similar for comfort. It had been good that Zoom had slowed Barry's healing, or the tip of the claw might still be inside him, broken off when Cisco'd hit Zoom with a dart. As it was, Caitlin had gotten the fragment out of Barry's chest before he'd healed over it, and gross as that was, it made for a useful way to keep tabs on Zoom.

Already, Cisco's vibes had helped them stop three metahuman attacks, Barry arriving within seconds of Zoom dropping them off and taking advantage of their confusion to send them right back. Cisco had to admit, it felt good, being that useful, being really helpful. It almost made up for how terrible he felt when he vibed, cold and paralyzed, feeling Zoom's presence. It almost made up for the helplessness he knew they all felt in their failure to find and rescue Jesse.

For the space of a breath, the fragment glinted black and lay, almost innocuous, in his bare hand. And then the blue light filled his vision, flashing like lenses glare and obscuring the room until his eyes adjusted.

It was a scene he'd seen before, a dimly lit room that had to be Zoom's home base, but a different section. No Jesse, no prison cell. Cisco strained his ears, hoping to learn more of Zoom's plan, or backstory, or something, anything that could be useful. There was that constant ringing blur in his ears that accompanied every vision, but then words, muted, back-scored by that awful hum. **"…know you see me…."**

Cisco jolted, dropping the claw and skidding backwards, back in the relative safety of Star Labs.

"What did you see?" Barry asked, trying to make it less obvious he still needed the cane.

Cisco shook his head. "I'm…I'm not sure. But—"

The computer shrilled an alert, another breach being used. Another Metahuman quite possibly about to go on a rampage. Barry sucked in a breath, then leaned the cane against the cortex desk.

"Barry, be careful, you're still weak." Caitlin tried to smooth the worry-crease in her forehead with a confident smile, but it seemed forced.

"I'll be fine."

He took off running, lightning crackling behind him.

"Stop," Barry's voice echoed over the com. Caitlin kept a hawk's eye on his vitals, but they seemed to be normal. "Please, listen to me. You don't have to do this. I know Zoom promised to take you home if you killed me, but—We can send you home too. My team."

There were no visuals, but the Meta's voice came through clear. "Kill you? He didn't send me here to Kill you, Flash. He sent me here to _distract_ you."

Barry's heartrate spiked on the screen as the doors to the cortex _shattered._

* * *

Cisco's head ached with the resonating hum that filled the room-that filled his _bones—_ as Zoom burst into the room like a bruise, black and blue. There was no time to back away, no time for Harry to grab the dart gun, or for Joe draw his service pistol, no time for Caitlin to scream a warning, or for Iris to notice as Barry's vitals all spiked and the suit monitors send red alerts about broken bones.

Zoom's gloved hand, dark and clawed like a demon thing, closed around Cisco's wrist, pale lightning skittering, burning, as the other arm swept up and around lifting him off the ground and pinning him in the same movement. The world blurred, Blue like the vibes, but not like them exactly, as Zoom ran and Cisco fought to breathe, unable even to struggle against the tightness of the grip and the force of the sheer speed.

The portal loomed, Cisco knew that, knew without seeing, and going through it only took a heartbeat but it was a heartbeat too long. He had expected flame, but it felt instead closer to passing through thin sheet of wind going across, not against- pressure, cold, and then…nothing.

Until Zoom dropped him and he landed in a heap on a floor he recognized from too many vibes. Cisco swallowed hard, willing his legs to behave and let him stand and failing miserably. His hands shook, his whole body trembled with terror. There was nowhere to run, not from something that was faster than Barry.

The black clad speedster loomed over him, the hideous mask patterned with a monster's sadistic grin, all spite and cruelty and teeth. The moment stretched out, longer and longer, a rubberband waiting to snap. Any second now, Cisco knew he'd be dead, alone and dead on a cold floor, just like the Before that hadn't happened.

Zoom only watched him, insect eyes calculating. Cisco's chest heaved.  
"Just kill me already," he panted, the fear and dread clenching at his heart like a fist. He squeezed his eyes shut, the words to prayers running out of his head like water in a busted barrel.

" **No."**

Cisco's whole body jerked in surprise, and he regained enough control to scramble backwards an inch or two before Zoom's foot caught his chest, pinning him again.

" **I have other plans. You…you will be** _ **useful."**_

Cisco couldn't breathe, staring up at Zoom, his heart racing. Too many horrible thoughts came to mind. _Useful_. As what? Bait? Cisco doubted that, Zoom already had Jesse, Zoom could have taken Iris. A hostage was more likely, but still. Worse still was the third option, that his use was not passive. Zoom had to know about them, about who Barry was, but what if he wanted information? In his last vibe, Zoom had—Zoom had known. What if he wanted Cisco to tell him their plans, not that they had many? What if he wanted to know their weaknesses? Cisco fought to keep his breathing steady and failed, panic pulsing in his blood. He'd already betrayed Barry once, he wouldn't again, _couldn't_ again.  
Somehow he doubted Zoom would give him much of a choice.

One hand reached down to grab him, those empty eyes glinting in the dim light. Cisco threw up both hands in a desperate attempt to protect himself, even knowing it was useless. What good were visions to defend against something like this? He couldn't even fight regular villains without help.

When Cisco was six he'd broken his arm falling from a tree, where he'd been watching a hummingbird build a nest. He remembered the way the bone had clicked into place when the doctor set it, a moment of white hot pain but the sense of something put right. When he was seven, he'd been allowed to quit piano if he promised to learn another instrument. He'd been drawn to the harp—all the different strings, vibrating at different wavelengths based on thickness and where they were plucked, but harps were expensive, so he chose the guitar, which was "cooler" anyway. He remembered the pulsing of the wire strings against his fingertips, the callouses they left, the way the sound seemed almost to come from his own hands.

Both feelings he felt now as something burst forth, a shockwave ripping through outstretched hands. Zoom fell backwards, no, Zoom was _flung_ backwards, and Cisco didn't allow the shock to stop his scramble upright. Miracles could be questioned later.

He ran, knowing full well it was pointless, but nothing grabbed him from behind. Zoom didn't appear in front of him, crackling with lightning, and even though he could hear his heart beating too loudly in his ears, the pumping of his blood, the harsh echo of his breath, that was all Cisco heard. The terrible, bassline humming that had always accompanied Zoom was gone.

 _Don't question it just be glad and run._ Cisco had never been a fast runner, not exactly, though he could have broken Barry's pre-powers "records." Still, there was nothing quite like running for one's life down badly lit corridors and hoping for a door that led outside. Not that getting outside would be that much better, Zoom could still catch him…except Zoom hadn't, yet.

Down another hallway, he found himself in a very, very familiar room. Sickeningly familiar. Cage bars ran across part of it, and inside…  
"Jesse?" he asked, whirling around, searching frantically. 'Run' was no longer priority. He couldn't live with knowing he'd left her here, and he wouldn't die abandoning her either. Maybe Zoom was just toying with him, but maybe they had a chance. "Never spit on God's miracles," his Abuela had told him sternly. _Don't question the gift, just accept it._ There was no lock, no door, but there had to be a way to get her out.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, wary, as he found a control panel and peered at the wires.

"Long story. Short version, your dad's working with me and my friends to stop Zoom, er—tall, dark, and asshole. Aha!" Something released and the bars parted. Cisco gripped a sawedged hairclip and started fumbling at the ropes binding her hands.

"Who are you?" she asked, and then suddenly frantic, "He's here, I heard him come back, he'll kill you, how did you even—"

"Questions maybe later," the cord frayed and snapped. Cisco moved to her other side. "He kinda brought me here and I think he would have killed me already, but I for one don't wanna stick around to find out those plans. I think we should go now. Can you walk?"

She could, barely, and they limped along, her arm thrown around his shoulder, made easier in that they were of similar height.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" he asked as they turned.

"Um. No?"

"Me either, but that way look promising." He nodded toward it, picking up speed as Jesse got used to moving again.

His hope was right, there was a ladder, hopefully that led up and out.

Behind him, there came a sound like static. Cisco turned, pushing Jesse behind him, toward the ladder. They'd made it this far. Maybe he could bargain. If Zoom wanted secrets, he'd get them, Cisco knew that. He wasn't strong enough. Maybe he could last a little while, but—maybe he could at least get Jesse out.

" **Ever the little hero. Always willing to take one for the team."** The blue lightning sparked as Zoom laughed. The sound was like ice in Cisco's spine, catching the breath in his lungs. What had he done before, it had to have been something. He couldn't just let Zoom win, not if he could do something, anything, no matter how small, how hopeless. He clenched his fists, then let them go loose.

"Sounds about right," Cisco swallowed, an impossibly loud sound in his ears. Zoom lunged. Cisco saw it in the lightning, and he raised his hands, palms open, fingertips stinging, singing. The air rippled; the world roared, and somewhere in the space of noise and silence, Cisco felt that hum, Zoom's vibration, one chord that stood out. He reached for it without reaching, and pulled, twisted.  
It was like the snap of a guitar string, one sharp moment of pressure before giving way. Zoom dropped. The lightning faded.

"How…"Jesse breathed, eyes wide. He could hear her breathing, as quick and panicked as his own.

"I'm Vibe, Metahuman. I can apparently do…whatever that was. C'mon."

* * *

The ladder led up into a hallway Cisco didn't recognize, but there was a door that didn't take long to get through and outside that lay freedom. Also: absolutely nothing but an unpaved road and way too many trees for Cisco's liking. They ran as best they could for several tense minutes until they rounded a band, with no hint of being followed.

"Did you kill him?" Jesse asked, catching her breath.

"Maybe? But I get the feeling he's not gonna be quick on his feet for a while, if he did survive." Cisco grinned at the memory, elation pounding like birdsong in his ears. With the snapping of the soundwave, Zoom had dropped like a stone, and he hadn't so much as twitched afterwards, lying on the floor like a broken toy, the lightning and hum gone. "Kay, I'm guessing this isn't Central City." He winced, looking at Jesse. "Uh…do you know where this is?"

"It …looks like a forest," she said, blinking like she hadn't seen sunlight in a very long time. "Pretty sure of that. Other than that…not really. Um. Might be a state park? The closest one is…east of the city, so…."

"Heading west sounds good." Cisco hoped he sounded sure of himself. "Once we do, we just need to get to STAR Labs."

"My Dad's company," Jesse nodded, still shaking. "You said, earlier… he sent you? You work for him? But he…really doesn't like metahumans."

"Not for. _With._ Like I said, long story."

"It's going to be a long walk." She shrugged, apologetically. "I don't suppose you have anything to eat?"

Cisco fished in his pocket and produced one of Barry's calorie bars, slightly squashed. "Don't eat the whole thing, it's got enough calories for, like, a week. I made them for the Flash."

"You work for J—the Flash?"

" _With_. Yes…and no? I'm from another world, and yes, I know exactly how crazy that sounds. There are some portal…things. I work with my world's Flash, but your Flash showed up a bit ago, and then your dad. And Zoom. He's been trying to kill our Flash, my best friend. I think he figured out I was spying on him." He tapped his head as they walked. "But anyway, yeah, I work with both of them."

"I know about the other Earth. Zoom…mentioned it." She hugged her arms around her. Cisco winced, remembering one of his early vibes.

"Hey, it's gonna be ok, promise."

"You can't promise something like that. How do you know?"

He shrugged again. "Because we made it this far, oh ye of little faith."

They walked a little further in silence before a rumbling behind them made them both flinch and turn.

* * *

"I need to—" Barry tried to push himself up from the med-bay cot.

"You need to rest," Caitlin said, her voice and hands steady, though dried tracks on her cheeks where she'd cried betrayed her. "You can't save him running on two shattered legs, Barry."

"You said they were healed." Barry countered, his face still so pale with pain that his freckles stood out like ink marks. "Caitlin, he—"

"I _know,"_ Caitlin snapped, then faltered. "You're heal _ing_ not heal _ed._ It was bad, and it takes you longer than an hour and a half to heal from something like that."

The silence stretched, punctuated by the shill chips from medical equipment, and faint hum of the florescent lights and computers. When Barry broke it, his voice was soft. "You think he's dead, don't you? That Zoom…"

"No," Caitlin shook her head so fast her hair flew. "He's not dead, I won't believe it. When Zoom attacked you, he did it in front of us. He would have done the same thing, he would have. He had to have. Cisco's not dead. He's _not._ As soon as you're able, we'll find him. I know we will. There has to be…some way."

Barry nodded, swallowing hard. He could still hear the echo of it in his ear, though he'd long since removed the com, though so much had gone on on his end. It wasn't the meta he'd fought that he couldn't forget, not the sound of his legs shattering or his own cry. It was the other side of things, Caitlin's screaming after the lightning-buzz had faded, the sound of splintering glass.

Joe, Jay, and Iris had busied themselves with the glass, sweeping it up. Harry had left, taking his tranq gun. Joe found him downstairs, pointing the weapon at the portal.

"I'm going to be ready for him. When that thing comes back." Harry said, his tone flat. "I'm not going to let anyone else pay for my mistakes."

"Barry and Caitlin think Cisco might still be alive—your daughter, too. You don't think so?" Joe asked, settling himself on the stairs.

"Your team is optimistic, and look where that luxury got them. Got us. Zoom is a monster. Besides, can you tell me you honestly believe Ramon isn't dead?"

Joe said nothing for a long moment. "Kid's been through things not even you can imagine. He's stronger than he looks."

"But even you have doubts, detective."

"I'm not going to be the one to tell them that. I can't." Joe shook his head. "Not without proof. But…Zoom is a monster. I can't deny that. What he did to Barr, that would have killed anyone else."

Harry grunted, then examined the gun. "My daughter is all I had left. Even if he hasn't killed her, he will if we don't stop him. I'm not willing to let that happen if I have even the slightest chance. And if it's already too late, I'm going to at least avenge her."

They sat, awash in blue light from the pulsing portal until the flats of their feet ached. Harry passed the gun to Joe to give his legs a moment to stretch and his arms a moment to relax, going upstairs for word from those in the cortex. He had been gone only a minute when the portal's gleam dimmed and shifted. Someone—something—was coming through.

* * *

The trucker was kind enough not only to tell Jesse and Cisco that they were around fifty miles from Central City, but also give them a ride. Cisco had hesitated only a moment. The Vibe he'd seen when he shook the man's hand had been somehow warm despite the blue tinge, a man playing with his children and a small dog, friendly and joyful. Jesse hadn't hesitated at all. They'd piled in, and he'd left them off a few blocks from downtown. He'd waved off any offer of money, which was a good thing, since Jesse had none, and somehow Cisco guessed that cash from his world wouldn't match that of this America.

"How can I help you?" a well dressed blonde woman asked primly from behind her desk in the STAR Labs lobby. Looking up, she gasped. "Miss Jesse! Oh, my heavens, you—we were all so worried about you, after the news that you'd…" she glanced at her watch, blinking red, and then narrowed her gaze at Cisco. "Miss Jesse," she lowered her voice. "That's a metahuman. Are you hurt, are you in danger? Is _that_ what took you? I'll call the poli—"

Cisco flushed, looking at his dusty shoes for a moment before lifting his chin.

"This is my friend," Jesse said, her voice firm for all it was dry. The trucker had only had one spare water bottle. "Helen, I need you to put down the phone, and let us into the basement."

"But, Jesse, it— _he's one of them._ And I can't allow just anyone off the streets in not without authorization." Her voice rose higher into a squeak.

"He has authorization! From me! He saved my life!" Jesse hissed back, the anger flashing in her eyes a match for her father's. "And I know that my father's missing, too. I'm legally the next owner of this company, and I have full access. Let me, and my friend, in. Now."

"You have full access," Helen agreed, and Cisco saw she was shaking, some. "But I'm not going to lose my job because I allowed some guttersnipe—"

"Fine," Jesse smiled with brightly concealed rage. "You won't lose your job for allowing it. You'll lose it for being a racist busybody who refuses to follow directions and acts condescending to my personal guest, who, may I repeat, saved my life after I've been kidnapped and held hostage for—what, three weeks? Three months? I don't know," Jesse snapped, then raised her voice. "Fight me, Helen." Swiftly, she reached across the desk, and hit a button. The door swung open. "C'mon."

Cisco followed, glad to get away from the glaring, his pride still stinging.

"I never liked her. I'm sorry." Jesse looked at Cisco once they were inside the main corridors. Outside, Helen was shrieking.

"I've dealt with worse," Cisco shrugged. "Um, ok, so basement—" It was eerie, how identical the floorplans were, aside from the occasional keycard scanner. Luckily, even after Helen's card maxed out its clearance, others recognized Jesse's fingerprint, and no one else put up a fuss. He led the way through the maze, hoping that the portal was where it was on his Earth.

"You shouldn't have to. You're a hero." Jesse insisted. "And anyway-oh, oh wow." The portal gleamed in front of them, and Cisco was vaguely surprised it hadn't been better guarded.  
"Ready to see your dad?" Cisco asked, extending a hand. She took it, and they stepped forward. The world went blue.

* * *

Joe fired, the dart hit something and clattered to the ground. The blue light faded, and he found his voice.

"Harry! Barry! Caitlin! Get down here, NOW."

Cisco lowered his free hand and got to his feet, grinning and exhausted. "I'm really glad I saw that coming." He reached down to help Jesse to her feet, he'd dragged them both down as soon as the vibe had ended and they'd found the other end of the portal.

She smiled shakily, and in that moment utter chaos erupted.

Barry was the first down the stairs in a streak of gold light, but Caitlin and Harry were hot on his heels. Cisco felt the air crushed from his lungs as Barry hugged him, and he released Jesse's hand to hug back, suddenly keenly aware of how much energy he'd expended and how close he'd come to dying.

"You're alive, thank God, I thought you were dead," Barry muttered as Caitlin joined the group hug, crying again.

"Don't scare me like that, you hear me?"

Cisco just nodded against her shoulder, too out of breath and overwhelmed to speak. It seemed like an eternity that they stood, clinging to each other, each rapid heartbeat another strand, three harp strings plucked and echoing. It was the best sound he'd ever heard.

Harry stood, stock still at the base of the stairs, as if the world had shattered beneath his feet and he could not move for fear of falling through. "Jesse?" He whispered, his voice thin as a bit of straw, breaking with hope.

"Daddy!" Jesse half tackled him, not waiting for him to come to her but trusting his arms. They fit around her, and for the first time that anyone had ever seen, Harrison Wells wept, hugging his daughter close.

Somehow, the two groups slid together, pulling Joe and Iris into the mess, a tangled knot of hands and arms around shoulders, heads tucked against shoulders and chests, laughing and weeping. They were safe. They were safe, and alive, and together.

They were home.

* * *

Leave a comment if you feel so inclined, I hope you liked it.


End file.
